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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to click
  7. game — wild animals
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. net — in sport
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. prune — to trim
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. net — after costs
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. game — a match

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com